Mohamed Salah scored twice as Roma smashed Champions League rivals Fiorentina 4-1 at Stadio Olimpico on Friday to win a seventh consecutive Serie A match.
The winger ensured the club he left in controversial circumstances at the start of the season endured a miserable evening by netting a double and creating another for in-form Roma.
He set up the hosts' opener on 22 minutes, collecting a throughball from Miralem Pjanic before his cut-back allowed Stephan El Shaarawy to tap home a fifth goal in six league games.
Salah netted himself three minutes later, picking up Diego Perotti's pass and seeing his shot take a massive deflection off Davide Astori to loop into the top corner.
Perotti then struck on 38 minutes for Luciano Spalletti's men, slotting home with his left foot after brilliant wing play from El Shaarawy down the left.
Fiorentina thought they had got back into the game in first-half stoppage time when Josip Ilicic scored penalty after Lucas Digne was ruled to have fouled Cristian Tello in a decision that promoted big Roma protests.
But Salah ended the game as a contest in the 58th minute when he produced a moment of magic, curling in a shot from what seemed to be an impossible angle after the chance appeared to have gone when he rounded goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu.
The victory moves third-placed Roma three points clear of a Fiorentina side who suffered their first defeat in eight league matches.
